First impressions can make or break you, and that is even more true when you're in a professional situation trying to convince a group of people of your merits. An introduction speech is your opportunity to grab your audience's attention and entice them to get to know you better. Take this opportunity to highlight your skills and brag about your accomplishments, but do it in a manner that doesn't alienate your audience. And yes, such a speech is possible by following a few simple steps.

Develop a teaser. Tailor a catchy phrase or story which pertains to your audience to encourage them to continue wanting to hear what else you have to say. If speaking in front of a group, visually span the group, making a point to engage in eye contact. Use hand gestures and infliction in your voice to maintain their attention.

Acknowledge the purpose of the speech. By including the audience in your embarrassment at having to extol your virtues, you set up the fact that you will be bragging somewhat, but you put it in a context that allows it to be acceptable.

Share your education and qualifications. You are giving your audience the information they need to acknowledge you as a credible source. Keep this short and to the point. They just need to know what makes you the person for whatever task they need you for.

Acknowledge what they have to offer. You are speaking in front of this group for a reason; they must have something that you find impressive and want to contribute to. Now is the time to mention it. The whole speech has been about you; it's time to focus on them.

Talk about what you and the audience can do together. Indicate how you will help them improve on whatever project you are collaborating on.

End by reiterating your point. You want to make sure you get your message across, and repeating it will help. Keeping your speech simple and short will also help.

Tips

Don't fidget.

Look the audience in the eyes.

References

About the Author

This article was created by a professional writer and edited by experienced copy editors, both qualified members of the Demand Media Studios community. All articles go through an editorial process that includes subject matter guidelines, plagiarism review, fact-checking, and other steps in an effort to provide reliable information.